A Brother's Dilemma
by Beyond Kailani
Summary: His heart clenched painfully as he watched the burning paper wriggling innocently in the palm of his hand…History repeats itself.


**Authors Note:** Sshh. Don't make a sound or you might scare ff .net away again…only been wanting to upload this for the past two days!

And apparently this is turning into a little series! Completely unexpected but who am I to argue with my muse ;) This follows on from A Brother's Gift and A Brother's Message and is set several months post-Dressrosa. And big shout of thanks to Mithril for beta'ing for me!

 **XXX**

 **A Brother's Dilemma**

 **XXX**

"Okay, guys, you know the rules! No making trouble or else I'll dock everyone's allowances! And yes, Luffy, that'll mean no extra meat." Luffy pouted, completely ignoring the glare his navigator was giving him as he lamented the possibility of no extra meat at dinner that evening. "Just this once, it'd be nice to restock without causing a ruckus," Nami half pleaded as she finished dishing out her precious money.

"Now you're just asking for the impossible," Usopp snorted with amusement as he slung his bag over his shoulders.

Luffy perched himself on the swing, allowing the small sea breeze to gently rock him as he watched his nakama flit about as they readied themselves to disembark at the latest port. Sanji and Chopper were double checking their shopping lists, both diligent in their responsibilities to the crew while Franky was happily boasting to Brook about the new features he was thinking of adding to the Sunny.

"And for heaven's sake, Zoro, stay with Franky this time, would you? I don't want to have to wait two days for you to decide to reappear," said Nami firmly, prodding the bored looking swordsman sharply in the chest.

"Yeah, yeah," he yawned.

"Show some respect to Nami-san, you damn Marimo," Sanji growled instantly.

"Shut up, Ero-cook."

Luffy grinned as the inevitable fight broke out between the pair. He twirled his beloved straw hat around as Robin joined him.

"I'm taking it as a good sign that the locals haven't yet attacked us, despite our pirate flag," she said softly, completely ignoring their two roughhousing nakama as they crashed into an unsuspecting Usopp. "We might be able to avoid a fight for once."

Luffy hummed. "This could be a really boring island, then," he huffed, glancing down at the hat in his hands.

"That would certainly please Nami. I believe she's still annoyed your last escapade resulted in the loss of her treasure. I'm sure she…Luffy? What's wrong?"

Luffy didn't respond. He was too busy staring at what he'd accidentally pulled out from the safety of his hat's ribbon. His heart clenched painfully as he watched the burning paper wriggling innocently in the palm of his hand. He felt Robin leaning over his shoulder curiously and heard a soft intake of breath.

"Is that your brother's vivre card?"

It was an unnecessary question since she had been the one it to give it to her captain in the first place. Luffy had demanded one from his brother before they all went their separate ways after dealing with the mess that was Zou but Sabo hadn't had any on him. Robin had come to the rescue when she'd admitted she still had vivre cards for both Sabo and Koala from her time spent with the Revolutionaries. Robin had happily relinquished possession of Sabo's to her delighted captain.

"Hold on a moment," Robin requested, quickly dropping her own bag and beginning to rummage around inside with an urgency she didn't often show even in battle.

Luffy watched her detachedly.

"Oi, are you both ready?" Usopp asked as the rest of the crew joined them. Luffy glanced up at him and the sniper's eyes widened in alarm as he noticed how pale his captain was. "Luffy, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

He certainly felt sick, Luffy acknowledged silently as Chopper jumped onto his knees and began prodding his forehead asking half a dozen questions. His stomach was churning uncomfortably and his palms were all sweaty.

"Koala's is fine," said Robin as she rose elegantly to her feet.

Luffy wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, it meant Koala was safe. On the other, it meant they might not currently be together and there was no one Luffy trusted more than the young woman to watch his brother's back. He shuddered slightly.

"Koala's what is fine?" Zoro asked confused, glancing between the pair.

"Sabo's vivre card is burning," Luffy muttered, clenching his hand around the paper tightly.

His nakama stared at him in disbelief and Luffy could immediately tell they were recalling the last time one of his brother's vivre cards began to burn.

"I'll try calling Koala and Hack's den den mushi's," said Robin, breaking the uncomfortable and oppressive silence that had fallen over the crew. "They might be within range," she added, although Luffy detected little confidence in her voice as she hurried inside.

"Luffy-san," Brook's soft voice pulled his attention and the captain glanced up at his musician. "Do you want to follow Sabo-san's vivre card?"

Luffy dropped his gaze back down to the burning paper. Could he ignore the voice that was screaming inside of him to charge to Sabo's side? It was the same voice he'd dismissed when he'd first learnt what it meant to find Ace's vivre card burning. He drew in a shaky breath, squeezed his eyes shut tight and gave the slightest of nods.

"Cook, Chopper, Franky, how long will you guys need to restock?" Zoro asked briskly, turning to the three in question.

"Shouldn't need more than a couple of hours if Usopp and Brook can help carry stuff back to the Sunny," Sanji replied without hesitation, a small plume of smoke rising above his head.

"Luffy," Chopper gently laid a hoof over Luffy's trembling hands. "We'll be as quick as we can," he promised before jumping down from Luffy's lap. The action brought about a flurry of activity as the rest of the crew scrambled to get together what they needed and be on their way.

"I'll see that I find the best meat, don't you worry," said Sanji, dropping a quick pat to Luffy's head as he passed.

"We'll play some games when we get back, okay Luffy?" Usopp grinned. "I've invented a new one I've been meaning to try."

"I'm going ashore, too, I want to check the latest news," Robin announced as she descended the stairs. Several faces looked at her imploringly but their hopes of contact with their Revolutionary friends were immediately dashed as the dark haired woman shook her head slowly.

Luffy drew in a shaky breath as Nami knelt down in front of him to catch his eye. She smiled encouragingly. "Can I have Sabo's vivre card, Luffy? I'm going to see if I can plot a course in his direction," she explained. She gently teased the paper from between his clenched fingers. "I'll bring it right back, I promise." She rose gracefully to her feet and turned to glare at the swordsman standing behind Luffy like a protective shadow. "You," she snapped, "don't even think about stepping foot off this ship. Got that?"

Zoro grunted as she sauntered off. He nudged the very dejected looking Luffy gently in the back with his knee. "Oi, been meaning to ask, want to help me raid the Cook's good liquor cabinet? I think he's storing some dried meats in there, too."

Luffy recognised an order when he heard one and so forced himself to his feet, although not even the thought of successfully stealing some of Sanji's food could push away the nerves dancing in his stomach as he slowly followed the swordsman into the galley.

 **xxx**

The Straw Hats did their utmost to distract their captain in the following days; Sanji made samples for new menus and turned a blind eye to Luffy's snatching hands. Usopp, Chopper and Franky played games until they quite literally dropped, with Robin being more than happy to read aloud from her vast book collection until they'd recovered enough to continue. Brook would burst into joyful tunes at random intervals, Nami didn't shout once – despite Usopp accidentally setting fire to one of her precious trees - and Zoro took to sleeping on the grass as opposed to disappearing into the crow's nest. But none of them could miss how Luffy's gaze would moisten as he stared at the vivre card and his sleep was fitful at best, nightmares plaguing his worried mind.

"Sabo's probably gonna laugh at me," Luffy admitted on the fourth day into their unexpected side voyage. He was sitting in the galley, restlessly flicking discarded pea pods into a bowl (Sanji refused to let him waste them).

The cook in question cast a glance over his shoulder at the despondent teenager from where he was standing at the sink, elbow deep in a bowl of potatoes.

"Why would he laugh?" he asked.

Luffy huffed as he dropped his chin onto his folded arms. "Ace and Sabo always used to yell at me when I tried to help them. They said I just got in the way and should worry about myself before even thinking about them," he sighed.

Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette. "Well, they were probably right back then. It's amazing they were able to keep you alive at all, I bet," he said, smiling softly as Luffy flashed him a cheeky grin. "But it's different now, Luffy, you're not a kid that needs to be looked after. You can take care of yourself…for the most part anyway. You're Sabo's little brother and he's probably incredibly proud of you for growing into a person he can rely on. I'm sure Ace was, too."

Luffy twisted his fingers together, looking more bashful than Sanji ever remembered seeing him before. It was a stark realisation to the cook that his captain had reservations about what people thought of him. He had never seemed to care but then Sanji didn't know anyone who idolised his big brothers like Luffy did.

"I wanna see Sabo already," Luffy whined softly, his head dropping onto the table with a sharp thud.

"I know you do," said Sanji, before reaching for a basket of corn cobs and placing them in front of Luffy. "Start husking," he ordered.

 **xxx**

Luffy was sitting in the aquarium bar with Robin, face pressed up right against the glass as he watched the fish drift around lazily. Over the last week, he had found Robin's company to be the most calming and reassuring to be around. She didn't fuss, continually ask how he was, nor try and distract him when he fell into thoughtful moments of silence. She appreciated he sometimes needed to stop and – as odd as it sounded – _think_ about his brothers. Sometimes they were painful memories but more often than not he was simply recalling that brief moment in time when they had no other worries than if they could evade Dadan after playing a prank on the unsuspecting bandits or even more importantly, what was for dinner that day.

"Robin-chan! I come bearing refreshments!" Sanji danced into the room, a small tray balancing precariously atop his outstretched arms.

Robin smiled politely. "Thank you, Sanji," she said, taking the steaming mug of coffee gratefully.

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy called. The cook turned to him. "Where can we get crocodile meat?"

The blond frowned thoughtfully. "Crocodile meat? Why'd you want that?"

Luffy grinned. "We used to eat it all the time back on Dawn Island! It's the -"

The Sunny's den den mushi screeched to life before Luffy could even begin to describe how tasty one of his favourite meats was.

"If that's the damn Marimo wanting more sake," Sanji growled as he stalked over to the wailing snail and snatched up the receiver. "What now?"

" _Ah, hello to you too, Straw Hat,"_ a familiar voice, soft and amused, filtered into the room.

"Sabo?" Luffy cried as he swung around, sliding off the supple leather seat in his haste.

"Sorry, I thought you were our resident swordsman calling to pester me again," said Sanji sheepishly as he watched Luffy try and untangle his limbs.

"It's good to hear from you, Sabo," Robin said warmly as she rose from her seat with much more grace than her captain and moved to Sanji's side. "You had us all worried," she added.

" _My apologies,"_ came the slightly raspy response. _"Is Luffy there?"_ he asked mildly.

"I'm here!" Luffy confirmed as he barreled into Sanji's side and snatched the receiver from the amused cook. "Sabo!" Luffy couldn't stop the smile stretching across his face even as a mixture of relief and excitement rolled around in his stomach. Newfound energy danced its way through his limbs as he listened to the amused chuckle from the receiver. "Are you okay? Your vivre card was burning," he asked in a rush.

" _I'm fine Luffy, just a few cuts and scrapes-"_

" _-and a concussion!"_

Luffy laughed at Koala's interjection, her voice tinged with humour.

" _Yes, and a concussion, thanks Koala,"_ Sabo sighed faintly. _"I didn't think it'd be so bad as to activate the vivre card, though,"_ he explained apologetically.

Out the corner of his eye, Luffy spotted Robin and Sanji making a silent exit, no doubt going to give the rest of the crew the news that Sabo was at the very least okay, if a little beat up.

"What happened, then?" Luffy asked, flopping back onto the bench and kicking his feet up. He half wished he had Sabo's vivre card on him but it was currently back in Nami's possession. He wanted to see the proof for himself that his brother's life was no longer in danger.

Sabo exhaled loudly. _"We had a run in with my new friend, Admiral Fujitora on our last mission. And with the risk of civilian lives pretty low, he decided a proper fight was in order."_ Luffy's stomach lurched as his brother trailed off, exhaustion clearly audible in his voice.

" _They were at it for nearly five days,"_ Koala input swiftly. _"We thought they were going to wreck the island completely."_

" _It wasn't that bad, stop exaggerating."_

" _Hey, I'm not exaggerating! You were unconscious when we took you back to the ship so you didn't see the full extent of the damage the pair of you'd done! Fire and meteorites can make a hell of a mess."_

Luffy giggled breathlessly, blinking hard as his vision threatened to blur as he listened to the comforting bickering. He sniffed loudly, causing the voices at the other end of the line to pause before there was hushed whispering and a faint click of a door closing.

" _Luffy?"_ Sabo called gently.

"Are you really okay?" Luffy stammered weakly, scrubbing his eyes briskly in an attempt to halt the steady flow of tears.

" _I promise I'm fine,"_ Sabo said again, softer this time. _"It's good to hear your voice, little brother."_

"Yours too," Luffy whispered. "I miss you," he admitted, suddenly desperately wishing for a hug from his brother.

" _I miss you too, but I suppose we'll be seeing each other pretty soon since I'm taking a wild guess you decided to follow my vivre card?"_ asked Sabo.

Luffy nodded even though he knew the blond wouldn't be able to see it. "Yeah, after what happened with Ace…" He didn't need to elaborate further. Luffy suddenly frowned. "Are you going to yell at me for rushing to rescue you like Ace did?" he worried.

Sabo laughed, causing a small smile to break out across the younger's face. His brother sounded undeniably weak and tired but to Luffy, it was the best thing he'd ever heard.

" _I'd never yell at you for that, Luffy,"_ said Sabo. _"You're my little brother, I wouldn't expect anything less."_

 **XXX**

There is a direct sequel to this called 'A Brother's Lesson' which I wrote for Mithril-chan's birthday last Friday. It's with her for beta now so you'll see it soon xD


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